Nobody Deserves To Be Hurt {Share Your Stories}

@Melaya Hey Melaya, I think having a space like this, for people to share their experiences of bullying, is really important and thank you for creating this space for that purpose. I hope others use this space and are able to seek support from one another and to reach out to others.

I will just say to anyone being bullied, its not your fault. Its nothing about your that makes a bully do what they do. You just happen to be the target at the time, as Im sure others are too. Bullying is not fun at all, it hurts, and its draining and can really pull you down. It can make you doubt yourselves, pick holes in yourself, even go looking for evidence as to it being something about you which is why your being bullied. There is never any justification for someone bullying another person. Yes there may be reasons which may make someone bully, but everyone also has choices, to be kind and respectful, aware of others feelings, or to trample over those, whilst attempting to belittle or make someone else feel bad.

I suffered bullying when I was younger due to having epilepsy by people who probably didnt understand what they were doing, and who perhaps were ignorant when it came to what epilepsy was about. The behaviour of others was very cruel. No child who is epileptic deserves to be called evil, defective, or spat on, which is all of what I endured. Somehow too, having a physical disability seemed to equate in the minds of bullies with being thick which of course, is not the case at all. If anything, the mentality of the bullies just showed how ignorant they were. However, the result for me, was feeling deeply ashamed about being epileptic and not wishing to divulge this to anyone, even trying to ignore the fact, not attending appointments when I needed to see a neurologist. I ended up being made to feel defective, different and like a freak. However, now I have no qualms with having this condition, its not something I can help, its not something I can control completely. It doesnt define me, and it doesnt prevent me being the kind of person I want to be. I used my experience of having been bullied due to having epilepsy to help other children. I did an interactive book which is used by a medical centre, for all the kids who are newly diagnosed, so they dont feel alone, and they can understand in simple terms what epilepsy is about. Bullying is such a cruel thing to have to put up with, but also for me, there is no space for bullying in my life, and I wont entertain it either. People are people regardless and should treat one another in a way, they would like to be treated

These are some wonderful sentiments, Rainbow. I'm sorry you had to go through that experience regarding bullying, and I'm glad you were able to move past it.

I certainly know how it feels to be bullied, as I have also experienced bullying at the hand of others. I am coping with health conditions, and don't feel that anyone should be bullied, no matter what situation they are facing. You are correct in saying that bullying is a choice made by others; others make a conscious choice to engage in bullying, and it can be prevented. To anyone being bullied, stay strong and talk about your experiences with others, to get some healthy support for yourself. Nobody should feel that they are alone in this experience; many people around the world are also victims of harassing behaviour from others. It should be said that just because these negative situations happen, it doesn't necessarily make them right.